SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Next generation high-speed missile systems require advanced thermal management solutions (TMS) to support high performance missiles and radar electronic transceivers at a system-on-a-chip (SoC) level. High power densities generated due to added chip complexity of transistors and microprocessors is a growing area of concern. Since conventional active TMS can be both large and require additional power, there is a need for new passive solutions to address these concerns. Oscillating heat pipes (OHP) have been actively researched as a potential solution to high power densities generated by modern chips because they couple high heat transfer efficiency with miniaturization capabilities. Additionally, recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technology and materials, e.g., laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), have enabled fabrication of structures using materials relevant to hypersonic flight vehicles and electronics integration with levels of complexity that cannot be practically achieved through conventional manufacturing methods. Hence, development and integration of these technologies to provide a method for direct integration of non-conformal OHP designs at a SoC level with radio frequency (RF) transceiver system components is needed to conduct direct sampling at frequencies of interest and eliminate much of the analog receive chain to achieve miniaturization. In response to this need Materials Sciences LLC will develop an innovative TMS technology based on OHPs that will be fabricated using AM.
